Same Owners, Different Game: How Covid-19 Forced Businesses To Reinvent

San Francisco CA

19 October, 2021

7:20 PM

Description

By Annika Hom, Mission Local October 19, 2021 As local tea fanatics pass by 15th and Valencia, they can't help but feel bereft. In the midst Covid-19, their beloved Samovar Tea House shuttered. More than a year later, a Detroit-style pizza joint opened. Wait, who is that behind the counter? Samovar Tea House's owner, Jesse Jacobs. Turns out he started and owns this place, Joyride Pizza, too. By now, Jacobs is used to answering the same series of questions posed by erstwhile teahouse patrons: Yes, Samovar tea can still be bought online, but unfortunately the brick-and-mortars are done. Sadly, there is no tea here at Joyride Pizza — but would you try a slice? The ingredient quality, like the owners, remains the same. That usually satisfies confused Samovar clients, Jacobs said. "They're sad, but they understand," he said. Now customers stay home to "make chai in the morning, and then come in for pizza." To read the full article, click here. Mission Local covers San Francisco from the vantage point of the Mission, a neighborhood with all of the promise and problems of a major city. You can support Mission Local here.